Gliding boards, primarily for sporting activities, are well known in the art and in the sporting world, including snowboards, snow skis, water skis, and the like. Various types of bindings have been developed to allow the user to engage the gliding board. The present disclosure is described with reference to the currently preferred snowboard binding embodiments, although the present invention may readily be adapted for other gliding board applications.
Conventional snowboard binding systems used with soft snowboard boots are generally categorized as either strap bindings that typically include a rigid highback piece against which the heel of the boot is placed and one or more straps that secure the boot to the binding, or step-in bindings that typically utilize one or more strapless engagement members into which the rider can step to lock the boot into the binding. Strap bindings are the original and most popular type of snowboard bindings and are adjustable, secure, and comfortable. Step-in bindings allow the user to more easily engage and disengage from the snowboard.
Both strap bindings and step-in bindings usually include a pivotable, highback ankle support that extends upwardly from the snowboard. The back ankle portion of the rider's boot abuts against a curved forward surface of the highback, essentially providing leverage by which the rider can control the snowboards heel edge. Alpine riders who need to perform high-speed turns generally prefer a taller and stiffer highback for greater edge control, wherein freestyle riders generally prefer a shorter highback for better flexibility. The angle that the highback forms with the snowboard, referred to herein as the maximum forward lean, is important to the feel and control of the snowboard. Generally, the maximum forward lean can be adjusted by the rider and will be set to a particular angle, depending on a variety of factors, including the type of snowboarding to be undertaken, the snow and slope conditions, and the like.
The mechanism for positioning the highback at a desired maximum forward lean typically includes a movable block that is locked into the desired position with a lever mechanism disposed on the back surface of the highback. Many bindings have a screw to remove and/or adjust the position of the lean block, while some utilize toolless adjustment, such as a lever or cam. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,797, to Bowles, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses a snowboard binding assembly with a forward lean highback and having a lever-type quick release locking mechanism attached to a slideable block on the back of the highback. Similarly, a popular snowboard binding marketed by the assignee of the present application under the Cinch™ trademark utilizes a highback-mounted locking lever that also engages a cable connecting to pivotable sidewalls, such that the assembly simultaneously moves the highback and the instep strap into position about a rider's boot.
It will be appreciated that a rider must typically engage and disengage the binding many times over the course of a day of snowboarding, generally while the rider is on the slopes and, typically, with gloved hands. The binding is typically engaged and disengaged using a lever disposed on the back of the highback. The engagement lever is positioned on the rear surface of the highback and accessibility may be further limited by other gear and ice on the rider's gear. Each of these aspects increases the difficulty of moving the lever between the released and the locked position.
In addition, the lever can be difficult for the rider to grab because its position in the unlocked position is very low to the ground, near the surface of the snowboard. Therefore, it can be difficult to physically reach to the end of the lever to engage the binding. It will also be appreciated that it is desirable that the binding engagement lever have a low profile with respect to the highback, e.g., flush or minimally extending, when the lever is locked. The low-profile shape is not ideal for grabbing onto the lever for engagement or disengagement of the binding.
Prior art efforts to alleviate these difficulties include the user of larger, longer levers and/or adding rubber grips to the levers. These efforts, however, have proved ineffective or impractical. For example, larger levers add to the weight and expense of the binding and tend to expose the mechanism to external forces that may cause the lever to inadvertently disengage, and rubberized levers do not adequately address difficulties associated with accessing the lever.
Therefore, there remains a need to provide a lever locking mechanism for snowboard bindings that is easy to move to and from the locked position while on the slopes and with gloved hands.